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Newsletter examines avenues of growth for Africa

The December issue of the Unleash Africa newsletter profiles Tony Elumelu, a Nigerian entrepreneur and investor whose Heirs Holdings Limited invests in startups and established businesses covering a wide range of sectors.

He also runs the Tony Elumelu Foundation to “prove that the African private sector can itself be the primary generator of economic development.”

In his article, John Akhile says the only way forward for African countries “is to identify and resolve the structural impediments to development.” For this to happen, African leaders need to take the long view, recognizing “that tackling the challenges of their countries will (likely) require more than their time in office.” In addition, African leaders and governments need to take a holistic view to the problems their economies face, that solutions cannot be implemented in piece meal fashion.

Akhile says that for African countries to truly develop their economies, they need to pay attention to the rule of law, implement anticorruption practices while holding the corrupt to account, and implement creative solutions to their countries’ problems.

Other articles in the newsletter examine the role the Internet can play in social financial growth in Africa, the need for Nigeria to address its energy and electricity needs, and the importance that such intangibles as confidence, leadership and equability play in setting the tone for a growing and expanding economy.